Personally, I've never really been happy with the Hobie seat. As far as removable kayak seats goes, it's one of the best out there but I find that after 2 hours in the saddle, I feel the first signs of discomfort.

There have been many Skipper Seat designs for the AI / TI. Here is yet another. I hope the video explains everything but if you're thinking of something similar, let me know if you need more details.

"Give a man enough rope, and he'll hang himself.""But give a Aussie a Pipe Bender, and he'll figure out a way how to keep his bum dry."

You've done it again my friend! Pretty clever of you to make use of your pipe bender and the rear scupper holes. I'm very impressed with your ingenuity. Careful - or you'll have to quit your day job to start filling orders that come in from the rest of us .

Howz your inventing going ? It's winter down this way which seems to divide us Islanders. Some brave the cold and sail all year round while others, like me who can't stand the cold, sit in the shed with a beer, some music and a pipe bender dream'n up solutions to problems that aren't there.

Slaughter,Sipping on a "cold one" sounds good to me . What with our 93+ heat (33C.), pop-up thunderstorms and 120% humidity we now have in Florida, I long for the Winter's cooler and calmer weather.

Other than little tweaks here and there and a bit of maintenance, I haven't come up with any major improvements on my boat lately. I did make some minor changes to my Sun Dodger though - it's higher and wider now. Thanks for the reminder; I ought to post some new pictures of it.

Let us know how your new seat holds up when you get back to being able to sail more often.

Unlike Slaughter, I carry built-in insulation (ever seen an elephant seal shivering?), so had a lovely sail today about 100 miles north of his location. It was only 21 C (70 F) but I'm glad I put on some SPF30+.

Tony - funny how even at 21deg we still need to apply the 30+ hey. Wish my parents had told me that.

Thanks Keith. After seeing Tony's skipper seat in the flesh, I knew that I'd have to get one eventually. Great little winter project. Although really comfortable, the seat may take a bit of getting used to. I haven't tried it in a strong wind yet and I'm thinking that in being up higher without the hull at the side of your bum holding you in, you may feel like you are falling out when you are on a strong tack. Time will tell I spose.

The best way of describing the change in seat position is by comparing it to getting out of a sports car and then jumping into a 4WD or SUV. Best thing is that I now have both, and can either install the skipper seat and go and pick up the groceries, or install the Hobie seat and go cruis'n for chicks. ( hope the wife doesn't read this or I'll be grocery shopping for the rest of the year )

Thanks Aussie. Don't want to jinx it by saying too much before extensive testing but so far I can't see any negatives. It's probably not a mod for the average back yard shed, unless you're decked out with a pipe bender and welder, but if you have mates, it's only a 1 slab mod.

Your body weight ( x say 2 for a live load ) is supported at 6 points, the hull, the crossbar and the scupper holes on both sides. I doubt that any of this loading would be more than the fully loaded AI on it's cart hitting a rock or gutter or pulling it through sand. The tubular frame goes through the full length of the scupper holes to spread the load. But a good point Alan and something to keep an eye on.

I doubt that any of this loading would be more than the fully loaded AI on it's cart hitting a rock or gutter or pulling it through sand

Thats one single load incident .. or a few each time you cart it, or never if you don't use a cart.

... Im thinking thousands of cycles as you BouncyBounce in the seat with every wave or pilot-induced movement. At the least, I'd look to encase the tube with a high density closed cell foam that could absorb and distribute the load. Does the foam you show extend into the scupper holes ?

just tryin' to help - i think its a brilliant setup and liking it even more after this past weekends' stewing

Slaughter, PM me your postal address, and I will send you two 5 inch sections of glass painter poles, with a vertical split of about 5mm. You can compress these so they fit firmly in the scuppers and stay there. These will then be a "bearing surface" and spread the load of the seat to alleviate any danger of the scuppers being damaged.

Their yum yum yellow colour won't clash with your dune hull as they will be hidden inside the scuppers, so you won't have to worry about sharks

Alan and Tony - I've cut the foam back mainly because the scuppers do a job in getting rid of water so I want to make sure there is no obstruction. Thanks for the offer of the painters pole Tony but I have some PVC pipe that is a perfect fit in the scuppers and after Alans comments last night, I had another look and cut some to suit, just to put my mind at rest. In the meantime I am in the process of stepping up the tube size and if your doing similar Alan I'd recommend it. 5/8" SS would be ideal but hard to find and harder to find a bender. 3/4" is a bit of an overkill but may be better that the 1/2". I totally get where you're coming from Alan, we're on the same page and always appreciate comments and 2nd opinions to anything I do. It's better that we all speak up and watch each others backs if we see anything that could cause damage or danger. Thanks.

( Tony - I've got to get back to you about the trip. I'll give you a ring over the weekend sometime )

Slaughter,That pipe bending is a work of art! Looks fantastic and is a very clever and functional design. How's it holding up?If you are concerned about the scuppers (I can see what PW means) couldn't you just bend it so it goes all the way around the crossbar and rests on the stronger hull deck area just under the crossbar?